• Geomechanics and Engineering
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• v.21 no.4
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• pp.337-348
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• 2020

Tropical organic soils having more than 65% of organic matters are named "peat". This soil type is extremely soft, unconsolidated, and possesses low shear strength and stiffness. Different conventional and industrial binders (e.g., lime or Portland cement) are used widely for stabilisation of organic soils. However, due to many factors affecting the behaviour of these soils (e.g., high moisture content, fewer mineral particles, and acidic media), the efficiency of the conventional binders is low and/or cost-intensive. This research investigates the impact of different constituents of cement-sodium silicate grout system on the compressibility behaviour of organic soil, including settlement and void ratio. A microstructure analysis is also carried out on treated organic soil using Scanning Electron Micrographs (SEM), Energy Dispersive X-ray spectrometer (EDX), and X-ray Diffraction (XRD). The results indicate that the settlement and void ratio of treated organic soils decrease gradually with the increase of cement and kaolinite contents, as well as sodium silicate until an optimum value of 2.5% of the wet soil weight. The microstructure analysis also demonstrates that with the increase of cement, kaolinite and sodium silicate, the void ratio and porosity of treated soil particles decrease, leading to an increase in the soil density by the hydration, pozzolanic, and polymerisation processes. This research contributes an extra useful knowledge to the stabilisation of organic soils and upgrading such problematic soils closer to the non-problematic soils for geotechnical applications such as deep mixing.

• Journal of Soil and Groundwater Environment
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• v.11 no.6
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• pp.61-68
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• 2006

Soil washing techniques coupled with high pressure air jet were applied for diesel-contaminated soils sampled by an underground oil reservoir of which the initial total petroleum hydrocarbon (TPH) ($2,828{\pm}206\;mg/kg$) exceeded 5 times of current standard level (500 mg/kg) regulated by the Soil-Environment Conservation Law. Through several tests, we found that the position of impeller has a critical impact for washing efficiencies. The highest washing efficiency was obtained at an oblique angle (30 degree) for the impeller and optimized mixing speed (300 rpm) that could have high shearing forces. Considered economical and feasible aspects, the optimum mixing time was 10 min. Rate constants of TPH removal derived from the first-order equation were not linearly increased as mixing speed increased, indicating that mechanical mixing has some limits to enhance the washing efficiencies. Application of high-pressure air jet in washing process increased the washing efficiency. This increase might be caused by the fact that the surface of micro-air bubbles strongly attached hydrophobic matters of soil particles. As the pressure of air jet increased, the separation efficiencies of TPH-contaminated soil particles increased. In the combined process of high-pressure air jet and mixing by impeller, the optimum mixing speed and air flow-rate were determined to be 60 rpm and $2\;kg/cm^2$, respectively. Consequently, the washing technique coupled with high-pressure air jet could be considered as a feasible application for remediating petroleum-contaminated soils.

• Journal of Ocean Engineering and Technology
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• v.18 no.4 s.59
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• pp.46-51
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• 2004

The surface layer in dredged and reclaimed marine clay is improved by mixing of shallow soils and hardening agents, which is made of cement, containing some other special admixtures. Tests in both laboratory and field settings are performed to investigate the improvement effect and strength properties of cement-stabilized soils. The test results show that the hardening agent sufficiently improves the soil properties of the surface layer, while increasing the load-carrying capacity. The strength of cement-stabilized soils depends, primarily, on water-to-cement ratio and curing temperature. That is, the higher curing temperature and the longer curing time, the higher the strength in cement-stabilized soils. The high ratio of water-ta-cement results in a lower strength.

• Proceedings of the Korean Geotechical Society Conference
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• 1993.10a
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• pp.23-28
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• 1993

Shearing properties of soil reinforced with discrete randomly oriented inclusions depend on soil density, particle size, grading, fiber length, tensile strength and stiffness of fiber, mixing ration of fiber, confining stress, etc.. In this paper the effects of those various factors on shear strength of the fiber-reinforced soil was evaluated through triaxial tests and uniaxial tests. Tests were performed on two sandy soils and one silty soil with inclusions in varing lengths, contents and tensile strengths and tested at different confining stresses in triaxial test. From the experimental results, it was investigated if there is an optimal range of fiber lengths and fiber contents for the tested soils.

• Proceedings of the Korean Geotechical Society Conference
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• 2003.03a
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• pp.813-820
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• 2003

The shear friction tests using large direct shear test units were performed to evaluate the friction properties of fiber-mixed soil. The used materials and test conditions were flowing. Soils : SM and ML; mixing fibers : three types of polypropylene fibers(net type 38mm and 60mm, and line type 60mm), reinforcement : geogrid; mixing ratio：0.2% and 0.3%; degree of compaction : 85% and 95%. In the test results, the reinforcing effect of fiber mixed soil was confirmed.

• Journal of the Korean Geosynthetics Society
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• v.9 no.4
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• pp.67-73
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• 2010

The most important thing in the design of the reinforced earth retaining wall is to obtain the good backfill materials. However there was a special case using soils mixed with the crushed stone, because the field ran short of good backfill soils. Accordingly in this study various kind of tests were performed according to the mixing content of a crushed stone, which are the gradation curve, the direct shear test and the pullout test. From the test results at first the gradation of soils mixed with crushed stone has been compared with the selecting standard as backfill of reinforced earth wall. And the gradation standard has been satisfied in case of mixing ratio 20% of a crushed stone under 19mm. Also the direct shear test and the pullout test have been performed and at the test results the shear strength parameter and the pullout strength parameter were increased with the increse of the mixing content of a crushed stone. It has been thought that this study will give important data to a designer in designing the reinforced earth wall with soils mixed with crush stones.

• Journal of Soil and Groundwater Environment
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• v.26 no.5
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• pp.9-19
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• 2021

This study evaluated the feasibility of combined use of physical separation and soil washing to remediate heavy metals (Pb and Cu) contaminated soil in a military shooting range. The soils were classified into two types based on the level of heavy metal concentrations: a higher contaminated soil (HCS) with Pb and Cu concentrations of 6,243 mg/kg and 407 mg/kg, respectively, and a lower contaminated soil (LCS) with their concentrations of 1,658 mg/kg and 232 mg/kg. Pb level in both soils exceeded the regulatory limit (700 mg/kg), and its concentration generally increased with decreasing soil particle size. However, in some cases, Pb concentrations increased with increasing soil particle size, presumably due to the presence of residues of bullets in the soil matrix. As a pretreatment step, a shaking table was used for physical separation of soil to remove bullet residues while fractionating the contaminated soils into different sizes. The most effective separation and fractionation were achieved at vibration velocity of 296 rpm/min, the table slope of 7.0°, and the separating water flow rate of 23 L/min. The efficiency of ensuing soil washing process for LCS was maximized by using 0.5% HCl with the soil:washing solution mixing ratio of 1:3 for 1 hr treatment. On the contrary, HCS was most effectively remediated by using 1.0% HCl with the same soil:solution mixing ratio for 3 hr. This work demonstrated that the combined use of physical separation and soil washing could be a viable option to remediate soils highly contaminated with heavy metals.

• Journal of Korea Soil Environment Society
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• v.2 no.3
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• pp.23-30
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• 1997

The purpose of this study was to evaluate effects of solids content and mixing speed in treatment of petroleum hydrocarbon contaminated soils using a slurry-phase bioreactor. Performance results on slurry-phase bioremediation of diesel fuel contaminated soil were generated at the bench-scale level. The fate of TPH(Total Petroleum Hydrocarbon) was evaluated in combination with biological treatment. Abiotic and biotic fate of the TPH were determined using soil not previously exposed to compounds in diesel fuel. The reactor volume for given throughput can be reduced by maximizing the solids content. Applications of 50% and 20% solids content(dry weight basis) were showed a little difference(57.5% : 61.6%) in biological TPH removal rate each other. Mixing and particle suspension are critical to desorption and biological degradation. In this standpoint, this study was performed using two mixing speed. When the reactor was operated at 70rpm, it had a better result in the particle suspension and TPH removal rate than the reactor with mixer rotated at 20rpm. In the reactor applied 20rpm, it was resulted in failure of particle suspension.

• Proceedings of the Korean Geotechical Society Conference
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• 2008.03a
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• pp.229-241
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• 2008

In order to investigate stabilization effect on As-contaminated soils treated by zero-valent iron(ZVI) and industrial by-products, batch tests and column tests were carried out with As-contaminated soils collected from farmland around the abandoned mine site. In batch tests, ZVI and industrial by-products(blast furnace slag, steel refining slag and oyster shell powder) were used as treatment materials to reduce As. Industrial by-products were mixed with As-contaminated soils, in the ratio of 1%, 3%, 5% and 7% on the weight base of dried soil. After incubation, all samples showed the reduction of As concentration and it was expected that ZVI and steel refining slag were effective treatment materials to remove As among treatment materials used in batch test. In column tests, columns were made by acrylic with the dimension of diameter=10cm, height=100cm, thickness=1cm and these columns were filled with untreated soils and treated soils mixed with ZVI and steel refining slag(mixing ratio=3%). Distilled water was discharged into the columns with the velocity of 1 pore-volume/day. During test, pH, EC, Eh and As concentration were measured in the regular term(1 pore-volume). As a result, ZVI and steel refining slag were shown 93%, 62% reduction of As concentration respectively by comparison with untreated soils. Therefore, if ZVI and steel refining slag are used as treatment materials in As-contaminated soils, it is expected that the As concentration in soils is reduced effectively.

• Journal of Environmental Science International
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• v.18 no.4
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• pp.473-478
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• 2009

The removal characteristics of total petroleum hydrocarbons (TPHs) and heavy metals in contaminated soils with ultrasonic washing have been studied. The ultrasonic washing was evaluated on a laboratory scale. In this investigation, the effects of factors such as ultrasonic frequency, power intensity, duration of irradiation, contents of the TPHs and heavy metals and mixing ratios between the contaminated soils and water, were considered. Experimental results suggested that the rates for contaminant extraction of the TPHs and heavy metals in the contaminated soil increased considerably with the ultrasonic washing. Therefore, the ultrasonic washing has previously been to be an effective method to remediate the contaminated soils with the TPHs and heavy metals.